I was delayed from starting my blog post. No. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to write. I just felt compelled to voice this statement because of my last post.

Storyline Competition

My postpone of writing was due to one major issue. Which storyline would win my affection and attention to become the next talked about bit of information. The stories argued their importance and worthiness in the battlefield of my mind. Each one determined to prove that their truth deserved a higher ranking on “My Must Write About List.”

Compromise is Good

I decided to compromise. I’ll write a little bit about two great information pieces. Here’s the decision; A little bit about where my family and I adventured to today. And, my thoughts about experimenting with the Snowball to use for podcasts.

Today we travelled over back to Wolcott Metro Park near Utica, Michigan. Yesterday we drove over to the park to photograph the gorgeous array of trees changing colors. I had seen the park sign on Friday when my family and I were in route to Westview Orchards. Once we reached the park yesterday, we discovered this Metro Park was home to the Wolcott Mill Historic Center.

Right in one of the fields was a sign that read Civil War Muster. We knew we were in the right place for the fall pictures… The landscape was a little bit of heaven. And, as soon as we saw the sign we were in history heaven.

We Love History!

Once we arrived at the park lot that’s when we saw the jackpot of Civil War History. The park was hosting a Civil War Encampment compete with two demonstrations of Civil War Skirmishes. The whole weekend was dedicated to Civil War Time Period of 1862 for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Next Topic Snowball

On Friday night my son, Austin, could wait no longer. He had to purchase the Snowball. I don’t follow technology like the rest of my family but I must say I was totally in support of this purchase. A purchase that would definitely benefit me. Austin has been encouraging me to create podcasts from my blog posts. I will say that I surprised myself. I didn’t realize just how fun it would be. And we have only just begun.

Stay Tune

I will be posting more about the Snowball as Austin and I continue to podcast. We hope to release several blog posts soon. And as far as the Wolcott Mill weekend, I have plenty of information to post. In fact, this definitely needs a whole post dedicated our whole experience. Stay tune for more on both of these topics.

No, it’s not writer’s block that has delayed my posts. But, I have plenty of other of dilemmas that have interfered with my writing time. Today I will begin to unbury myself one post at a time. One Post at a Time I will begin to open my files of stories that I have been wanting to post. I will write it. That’s gonna be my new manta… I will write it. Baby, I’m back.

No Whining

I want to whine. I could whine about it. Tell you all about how I have so much to do as a teacher, wife, mom, etc. etc. Ugh! But I can’t. I have this rule about not whining.  You know the Snoopy episode that says, “No Dogs Allowed.” Well, in my house there’s a rule of “No Whining Allowed.” Yes, I’m fair… if my family can’t whine than neither can I. I just have to buck up and tell you about all the many interesting life events that have been rivaling for my time. Not bad things… just time consuming things, fun things, educational things, baking things, reading things, and crafty things. And yes… One potentially bad thing….T.V. I won’t even take up anymore time talking to you about the new fall line up and my favorite T.V. shows. I will have to save that for another post. The T.V. post will have to occur after I’ve caught up on”all my other things.”

Stay Tune

Blue Snowball USB Mic

No, I’m not having writer’s block. I’m having a time issue. But, I hope to work out my time kinks. As a teacher I will just have to use my time in a more purposeful way. This is my first year of going back to writing when I know have to fit it into my teacher’s work schedule while not neglecting my other daily responsibilities.

I will write it. It’s the weekend so I am hopeful. I just have to decide which topic will get my attention first. I will say… I could be busy on a new project that is related to my blog post. My son, Austin, has been pricing microphones. The Blue Snowball USP Microphone to be exact. I was under the impression that he had been scoping out the purchase recently. He has been trying to encourage me to start creating podcasts for my blog posts. Apparently, Austin has been keeping tabs on this technology since 2006 when the Snowball was first introduced.

Nine Years Old

“Okay, I said. I didn’t even know it’s been out that long.” To which Austin and my husband, Will, said, “Yeah, we’ve been looking at the Snowball and talking about the Snowball since it was first available to purchase in stores in 2006.”  I thought to myself okay,”Now I understand why I didn’t know about this new technology in 2006. I was busy in teacher world. And, I thought, Okay, how old was Austin in 2006?” Then I laughed. He would’ve been nine years old. Yep, that’s my techie son.

Since I teach, I love to educate. Since I love to read, I desire all people to cherish words through reading. Since I love nature, I love to find nature’s beauty in the world around me.  Teachable moments can be found in what you discover in the neighborhood around you.

 World of Gaming

Source: Matthew King Photography/flickr.com

Sadly, tonight my husband had to teach me about the world of gaming. An industry that is taking our young guy population from us and our world because they are joining a different world. The world of gaming. The world of fantasy without reading. Gaming doesn’t have much use for reading. At least not the old fashion kind of  book reading. You know the kind of fantasy reading where you close your eyes to imagine how you think the characters and settings would look like. The kind of imagination you create not someone else’s computerized version of what a world would look like. Tonight my husband and I were stopping by our favorite coffee shop. We had awesome coupons from the newspaper this week. As we stepped out of the car, we couldn’t help but notice at least three high school age guys camped out in chairs next to the local game store.
We knew that they must be waiting for a new game to be release, since the store wasn’t closed yet and they were clearly waiting outside.

New Game Released

So Will asked, “Is there a new game being released tonight?” To which they replied, “Yes, Borderland 2.” In my naive non-gaming understanding, I asked my husband the question I was hoping as a teacher to be true. I guess I was in my own hopeful fantasy world I said, “Oh, is it a warlike game like the board game Risk? A strategy and geography game? I was so hopeful.

Will turned to look at me. I knew as soon as I said it. Yes, it was too good to be true. His smile was laughing at me. It was speaking to me the words…”Not in the year 2012. I know you breathe education but their oxygen is hard core fantasy gaming.” Then after his smile talked to me then Will spoke. He delivered the harsh reality of what our young males want to learn. Will said, “It’s a game about a post apocalypse world with gangs and zombies.

Boy, what an educational let down for me. This got me to thinking about our American History.

Our Founding Fathers

How do you think our world would look like today if John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Paul Revere, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington would have been gamers? I can guarantee there would be no quality of life as we know it. And more importantly, there would have been no Patrick Henry to say, ” Give me Liberty or Give me Death!” because he would have gamed himself to death.

I couldn’t see his face,
By the memorial he did stand.
He etched and rubbed,
With a concentrated hand.

His attention on a specific name,
Where he was leaned over and bent.
His paper on the memorial wall,
A pencil as his instrument.

He began his purpose for his journey,
His reason for why he came,
His closure… his piece,
That’s what his mission became.

With his presence busy at work,
I couldn’t quite departure,
I had to see this scene unfold,
I saw his determined stature.

As I stood back and witnessed,
Watch the scenes unfold,
I saw something else incredible,
More of the story to be told.

The paper that he was using,
It didn’t want to cooperate,
It wouldn’t stay uncoiled,
Pained to remember that date.

He went right on working,
Even when the paper didn’t behave,
To copy the name of the person,

Whose life was sacrificed to save.

So I looked away a second,
A stranger quietly stepped in to aid,
With no words exchanged,
He just rolled out the paper and stayed.

A man respecting another,
For answering the call,
Just a private matter,
Between him and the wall,

A call to serve and protect,
His shirt carried the letters FDNY,
It was a matter of duty,
A priceless tribute and goodbye.

The scenes were poignant,
They vibrated a profound song,
Lives were not forgotten,
The message was so strong.

The story I captured,
By just standing back to observe,
Left a lasting impression,
Of heroes’ praises so deserved.

I sealed it into my heart,
So I would never forget,
All of the persevering heroes-
All the lives that perished-

When the Towers were hit.

Last weekend, while shopping at Target, I made a discovery that created my jaw to fall in an excited manner. In conjunction with my jaw, my bewildered eyes must have popped out in true cartoon fashion. Were my surprised eyes deceiving me or could it actually be true? I should have expected it! My expectation is anticipated with this month of the year.

Nordic Ware Stare

September has arrived. I was aware that the month of September ushers in complete bliss for the baking lover’s life. Well, it does for this baking lover’s heart. On this spectacular September day, I once again did the Nordic Ware stare. Those of you who have read any of my Nordic Ware posts definitely know the meaning of  the “Nordic Ware stare.”  It’s a look of sheer delight mixed with  astonishment and satisfaction.

THE Aisle

I knew the day must be coming soon. After all… it’s September and everyone knows that this month invites a surplus of baking. My family and I walked through our favorite aisles of the store. We picked out some birthday cards for our relatives. I was making my way to THE aisle the BAKING aisle. It’s a common theme of mine while shopping at stores…. hit the book area and the cooking aisle for new products.

Bundt Quartet Pan

As I  continued to meander through the rows of goods, I perused over to the regular Nordic Ware baking row. I was hopeful for new products but definitely let down. Or so I thought!  Sure there were no new Nordic Ware products in the regular section of cooking. However…. I hadn’t made my way to the seasonal aisle. An aisle that Target usually doesn’t stock it’s seasonal Nordic Ware. Yet, there it was. The absolutely cutest  Bundt Quartet Pan by Nordic Ware that I have ever seen. As soon as I saw it, I knew the pan was a must have.

Mayday It’s Payday

Not a must have for the future purchase…. No way!  This purchase was a must have for today. It didn’t even have to convince me. I didn’t need to talk myself into the buy. After making sure I picked a no blemish pan, he was placed quickly into my cart.

Lemon Cream Cake

My family loves lemon desserts especially Will. So it was perfect when I saw a recipe on the back of the packaging for a Lemon Cream Cake. One individual cake serves a family of six but only if you cut small pieces. When you add ice cream  to the cake then you will have a great after dinner dessert. Sometimes a small sampling of cake is an excellent sweet choice. Because you know… a small conservative portion tonight leaves room to justify a new sweet treat for tomorrow.

Babies Bloomed

My babies finally bloomed! Sadly, they bloomed while I was on a summer vacation. It’s okay though. I do have at least five or six more sunflowers that haven’t opened their heads yet. I am waiting patiently and hopefully. After tonight’s rain I suspect that they will be ready to make their grand appearance.

For the most part the raised flowerbeds worked great for the sunflowers. I did lose some of my soil since my raised flowerbeds are located on an ever so

slight incline. It appears that some of the dirt gets washed away when it rains. And, it looks like the soil sinks down into the beds. Next year I hope to not only plant my flower seeds earlier but also add some much needed dirt.

Garden Experimentation

Garden experimentation creates a world of exploration. Exploring what options work in your gardens is a great trial and error process which can change and generate successful flower blooming for your next year’s gardens. Whatever works from your experimenting, then use the following year. Record what isn’t successful with your gardening. Ditch what doesn’t make the cut.

Yes, my babies have finally bloomed! Their growing season almost complete. While I loved watching their growth process, I am getting excited for fall season as well. My posts will begin consisting of all my baking experiments that I will begin to produce. Yummy fall recipes with apples and sugary glaze toppings. I have an endless supply of recipes to choose from. I can’t wait. As summer gardening winds up, don’t forget these five simple tips.

Five Simple Tips

1. Experiment with your garden. Try a possibility to see if it might work.
2. Keep a journal of how your experiment is working. My experiment was to see if I could plant seeds late in the season, And in a raised flowerbed. I also recorded their growth process by photographing their progress.
3. Log your ideas that worked and use next year.
4. Ditch what doesn’t work for your garden.
5. Finally, one I didn’t talk about in the article. Continue to look thorough your gardening magazines and books throughout the winter season. Keep in mind what you would like to try for the following spring and summer seasons. Save until spring arrives the following year.

Gardens can be very therapeutic as well. When you experiment in your gardens, you can’t fail. You are free to attempt possibilities until you develop the perfect mix. Perfect mix of flowers… that is. And what’s more… you never will know unless you try.

What an awesome garden and water exhibit at the Long Island Children’s Museum. Definitely my favorite exhibit here! My family and I explored this creative and fun museum this summer. Most of the exhibits turned out to be for my younger kids but we as a family still enjoyed ourselves.

My kids love to make crafts. At the Long Island Children’s Museum there are two exhibits where kids can make their own creations. At the toolbox exhibit they worked to make a wood piece creation. Next to the toolbox exhibit, the kids can add more decorative pieces to complete their toolbox creation or make a new craft entirely.

Garden and Water Features

Of course, I mentioned the garden and water exhibit first so now on to my bias. My Love! My Heart’s Desire. You will become a believer as well when you see my pics that I included. What a well done garden and water exhibit! They incorporated so many gardening ideas that I would absolutely be thrilled to include for my backyard. I love water features and the one at this museum is my new favorite. It is so so cute.

The kids can start at the water feature that allows them to create dam. We saw many little equipped kids already playing in their swim suits. The top of the water table where the dam is located then flows down into a creek water-bed. The kids can play in the creek area as well as cool off in the hot summer sun. A very strategically and perfectly sized tree was planted in this water area to create shade. The designer thought of everything with several wooded beach chairs placed near the outskirts of the water area. Just out of reach of the water splashing, the parents can relax and watch their children have fun.

Roof Top Garden Exhibit

Next to the creek there is a roof garden exhibit. I’ve always been fascinated with these type of gardens. I would love to have one if roof of my house wasn’t so steep. My ideal roof garden would be one where you could have an access roof top with the ability to have a patio garden area. Oh, and I can’t forget a water feature with my roof top garden. What a dream garden that would be.

Within the garden area exhibit there was also another craft area. My kids loved making a craft bug to go along with the garden theme. The whole area was so well thought out. Besides the water station area, other play areas included a sand area, hiding tree, arbor reading nook, and a mister to keep you cool. What an inventive place to hang out! Love it!

Museum Reciprocity

If you have planned a trip to Long Island and have elementary aged kids, then this museum is worth the visit. The Long Island Children’s Museum also honors certain other museum passes as part of museum reciprocity. With our family museum from our state, the museum allowed four family members to get in free. This is a great savings benefit when you are vacationing.

A sunny disposition describes my sunflowers in a radiant way. They are happiest to be basking in the sun rays on a daily basis. These sunflowers are real pros when it comes to positioning themselves for maximum sun ray coverage. You could say that they are genuine sunbathers.

Midwest Day

Today was a perfect Midwest day to catch up on lawn care and flowerbeds. My husband, Will, mowed the front yard while I rearranged our decorative gardening features. As you can see on my pictures included, I have a gorgeous art sculptured sunflower. I discovered it at an awesome store in the Amana Colonies. The artist has his own shop and store on his property in Amana, Iowa. My sunflower is just one of hundred designs that he handcrafts.

Gotta Go Back to Visit

I know I am ready to go back to the Amana Colonies with cash to buy more. This Amana Colony artist also makes about every kind of animal sculpture you can think of. All of the colors to his pieces are radiant and bright.

Coming Soon

Well, stay tune. It won’t be long my sunflowers heads are almost ready to open. I’ll be posting some more shots of them within a week. I can’t wait to see how gorgeous they are going to turn out. I’m trying not to rush them too quickly because my babies sure are growing up fast.

My whole family marked the date on our calendar. August 16, 2012 would be the first day

Source: amazon.com

of a four day long library book warehouse sale. We each had our book lists memorized in our heads so we knew what books to pick. Pick off the shelf for a book lover’s savings.

I’m sure by now most of you have heard of American Pickers from the History Channel. Mike and Frank star in this t.v. show where they travel around the United States looking for Americana memorabilia. All the antiquity stuff that American antique lovers will store, save, and collect in their homes to treasure. Mike and Frank travel to where these collectors live to try to persuade them to sell their collectibles.

American Book Pickers

Well, move over Mike and Frank because there’s a new show in town. Well, at least there should be. A t.v. program that showcases American Book Pickers. Yep, that would be my family. American Book Pickers. My son, Austin, picked an awesome find for me today. The book I have been looking to find at a discount store. An absolutely fabulous cookbook called The Bundt Entertaining by Nordic Ware. He knew I was too busy in the non-fiction section of the book warehouse so Austin went to the cookbook section for me. He scored big time and to the tune of an approximate $10.00 savings.

Bundt Entertaining Book by Nordic Ware

I guess I was a little jaded to believing that I could pick this find. I had looked all over at the last library book sale with no success. He wasn’t negatively fazed by my empty-handed, lack of cookbook find from the last sale. Austin believed it could be there and he brought home the Picker Success Prize; my Bundt Entertaining Book. Austin knows that he will also benefit greatly for displaying his awesome picker capabilities. There are abundant delicious recipes in this cookbook to choose from.

Dessert Pickers

Yes, Austin definitely gets dibs on picking out the desserts that I will be making. Well, right after his dad, Will. Because you know, where there is a book picker there is also a wallet picker. And hubby’s pocket was picked for all of the book purchases we made today.

My babies are growing up! Just look and see for yourselves how tall and proud they have become. With my pictures shown in my post, I will definitely call this post my brag book page. You see their growing season usually begins by May. As I mentioned in previously posts, I was off to a late start this year. My guys and gals didn’t get planted until the beginning of June. Yes, these spectacular sunflowers have been growing straight and strong despite this scorching summer sun and late start in the summer flower garden.

Late Planting Equals Late Bloomer

I can’t say I did much to nurture them either this summer. I watered them as I could…..we were out of town on a trip recently so there was no regular water then. But, for the most part, they were watered consistently. I put no extra fertilizer on them except what was in the dirt when I first planted them.

As you can see there are some bite marks from where the bugs have had a blissful time chewing on them. And, there are several leaves that have brown spots on them. I gotta look that up in my gardening book to see why there’s browning.

Raised Flowerbed

My big experiment was to see how well they would do even if I planted them later in the season. And, secondly, how would they grow in a raised flowerbed versus the regular ground.  I am pleasantly proud. My hypothesis was correct… I believe. The hypothesis of money well spent. The need of raised flowerbeds.

In all my past planting years, when I planted my sunflowers straight into the ground. Something will get to them. At first, I thought it might be just bugs. I even put chicken coop wiring around them to no avail. Something would bite into the stem of the sunflower and ruin its growth. Once bitten it was all over. It stopped growing and no matter what I tried I couldn’t savage the sunflower. It was so frustrating. What could the something be…bugs, bunnies,squirrels, or deer. All could be a possibility but I wanted to know what was the high probability.

High Probability

Ugh, did I just say that? High probability!!! I now HAVE to eat my words. Yes, I am using the information from my statistics class in college. I HATED that class but I have to admit.. I am using that information for my life. Thanks Dr. Woodredge… you were a saving grace. An angel sent from heaven. Hey, if you don’t believe me then ask my mom. After dropping the class several times and millions of stubborn, frustrated, and mad tears, I finally got you as a teacher. When I did… I finally got it! Yes, the teacher does matter. I say teacher because anyone can be a professor but it takes someone special to be a teacher. I would have told you then but I had to make it through the drama, I mean trauma, of having to take the class. The realization that I wouldn’t graduate if I didn’t pass this class. Well, the drama is over…. I think I got an A in your class. Maybe I should see if you are still teaching because you definitely deserve one of my sunflowers.

Peter Rabbit

Ok, and now that I have given my teacher appreciation acknowledgement. This year…..knock knock knock…. there’s been no bite marks. No stem bite marks… I should clarify. Hooray!!! This has led me to believe that it is probably our very own Peter Rabbit that has been biting the stems the previous years.

Four Reasons

Since that is probably the case, he’s (or they, I think there’s at least two) have been grandfathered into our yard. Yes, that’s right…. no harming the bunnies.

I have at least four reasons that the bunnies will continue to live in my yard unscathed.

1. They are just too darn cute.
2. My kids would be appaulled if I harmed them in any way.
3. My raised flowerbeds have seemed to have solved the stem biting.
4. I know the story of Peter Rabbit and Mr. MacGregor. I saw his garden and he had plenty of vegetables to share.

Long Live the Bunnies!

With being said, now it’s just like those darling little bunnies to steal the limelight or should I have said moonlight. We have seemed to see them outside during the serene evening hours. Anyway, I was supposed to be talking about my Spectacular Sunflowers. But, now what would a garden be without its bunnies. Long Live the Bunnies! (because you know they are so darn cute!)

I know I’m late to write a post. But, I have a very excusable reason. I’m reading one of many books. This one called Rescue; The Story of How Gentiles Saved the Jews in the Holocaust by Milton Meltzer is a fascinating read. Fascinating as a word really only begins to describe it. The psychological aspects of the history and rescuers involved during the holocaust is truly incredible.

Thank You Milton Meltzer

Source: amazon.com

Milton Meltzer has taken a very expansive amount of historical information and made it a manageable, interesting, and understandable read. I love how in each chapter of his book he writes about a specific region of Europe, its people, and how they feel in relationship to their Jewish neighbor. Their Jewish neighbor may live in the same town as they do or a neighboring country. At the beginning of each of his chapters he also places a map of the area of Europe that he will be describing in that chapter. I find this very helpful to me since I am a visual learner. I also am pleased that he already added the maps to the book because I would be very frustrated if I were to have to stop reading in order to review the geography of the area  that I’m reading about. With the maps already included, it saves me time. He must have known there are many avid readers that wouldn’t stop reading in order to learn their geography. Milton must have known that if he wanted a geography lesson to occur then it better happen simultaneously with reading the history. Thank you Milton Meltzer.

Oskar Schindler

Well, I’m only half way through the stories in his book. When I stopped to write this post, I had just finished the chapter on Oskar Schindler. The Oskar from the movie Schindler’s List. I had no idea that Oskar Schindler had been arrested by the Gestapo three times himself. I only knew what I had learned from Steven Spielberg’s movie. Oskar’s business savvy saved 1,200 Jewish lives. Incredible!

History Buff

If you are a history buff you may know a lot already about the politics, cultures, and geography of the European regions. In case, this book would be a great review for you. If you are like me, a lover of history but in need of more information that’s broken down into manageable learning chunks, then this book is also for you. It’s a great reference book for your personal library.

I’d write more but I gotta lay down the pen for now because I need to read.

Source: amazon.com via Pinterest

I didn’t wait to purchase an iPhone 4S when it came out last October. I wanted the upgrade especially to receive a better photo capability. I have used my iPhone 95% of the time to catch a quick snapshot of one of the kids during an activity, field trip, or to capture a scenic pic while traveling.

iPhone 4S

My iPhone 4S was definitely an improvement for many styles of photos. Compared to my previous iPhone, my picture quality was much better. Less grainy which has been a huge improvement. Yet, it had still been lacking some basic features that I really need.

Here’s my three top reasons why I need an Owle Bubo to partner with my IPhone 4S.

1. I need a better zoom feature of a photo camera.

2. I need better focus to my shots.

3. I also need the ability to shoot wide angle.

Sales Pitch

I first heard about the Owle Bubo from my oldest son, Austin, who is very up on the latest film technology. He and his dad nine times out of ten know what I need before I do. So I will begin to get their sales pitch as to the need of a particular product. Since it’s a product I need, you would think I’d say, “Buy it!”

Budget Minded

Nope… I’m not that kind of gal. I’m
still budget minded. They still have to prove to me that the product is worth the price. Can you show me it’s a must have tool for my household and/or business. And then, justify the cost.

Promising Stats

Austin has been monitoring the price of the Owle Bubo for me. He returned to me with some promising stats. There’s nothing more exciting than the report of a good sale price. My time to buy might be in the near future.

Quality Pictures

He doesn’t even have to justify this spending purchase with me. I need this tool to help me take better quality pictures for my blog posts. So for the right price I am totally supportive of this purchase.

One Question

I just have one question. Should wait until Christmas before I buy? Or do you think I could count ” You Survived Summer” as a holiday to justify my early Owle Bubo purchase? I am going to be using it as a work tool.

Time for another traveling adventure. My family and I were ready to head out for some summer journeys before school starts back in the fall. We were pretty much set to leave with the exception of one last errand. I knew that I was on borrowed time to find some more discontinued Naturally Nora Cheerful Chocolate Frosting Mix from Kroger’s shelves. I still had many Kroger stores to inspect for any last minute frosting mixes that might be hiding on a top shelf. On this night I picked two special stores… the ones… I called them. I had two stores on my list to check with a happy hope in my heart that I would snag any remaining boxes for my own personal stash. My own special fudge ingredient stash.

Frosting Mix Hoarder

I know it sounds serious. I definitely have seen shows on t.v. that could mirror this type of storyline hoarder… That special kind of hoarder, a frosting mix hoarder, news at six. Seriously, I did watch a hoarder show where a young woman consumed so many ounces of pop a day. She was getting an intervention of sorts…Yep, a soda pop intervention.

So before anyone gets any ideas, I won’t need that kind of intervention. I’m not trying to consume all of the frosting mixes for myself. No, I will share. Soon all the holidays are coming up and that’s a lot of fudge that I need to make for family and friends. Actually, I will also share with my son, Austin, who really has been the force behind the fudge making. Or as his dad says, “Austin is a confectioner not a fudge baker.” Oops, my terminology might have been a little off in my last post but the sugar content was the same. We want fudge! Good fudge with better ingredients. So I need a store that carries my Naturally Nora Cheerful Frosting Mix.

In Baseball Terms

Well, in baseball terms I ended up 0 for 2. Not good odds at all. I suspected that had I gone to one more Kroger’s store then I might have actually struck out.  But, don’t worry. I haven’t given up yet. I have a plan B in my back pocket. In fact, it’s where I am going on my travels. A traveling expedition that just might lead me to my Naturally Nora Cheerful Chocolate Frosting Mix.

Our local grocery store, Kroger’s, just confirmed that Naturally Nora’s Cheery Chocolate Frosting Mix has been discontinued at their store. Oh, say it ain’t so especially since my son just made the fudge recipe from Naturally Nora’s website. And it was scrumptious!

Fudge Expert

Austin has been our fudge expert since last Christmas season when he began on his fudge making quest. Yes, he’s now a fudge baker. Once he has baked a batch it, then he’s ready to whip up another 8×8 dish of fantastic fudge.

Amana Colonies

Actually, I caught sparks of anticipation in Austin’s eyes as we reviewed the fudge prices in the Amana Colonies of Iowa two summers ago. Oh wow …. did they have some awesome flavors of fudge. There were all of the common varieties of fudge. Plus, there were two other flavors that we tried… an amaretto flavored and a mint style. We had selected our favorite fudge shop that was priced right. However, you know the saying once you start you can’t stop. Well, we weren’t quite that bad but we did go back for seconds and then thirds. Seconds and thirds over a four day visit. So, of course, we could justify ourselves as repeat customers.

Annapolis, Maryland

This fudge buying in Iowa created a taste for fudge that didn’t subside. So last summer we were onto our next town of fudge. This happened to be the town of Annapolis, Maryland. And yikes… let’s just say that their fudge pricing was not family friendly. Not budget friendly equals not family friendly. So no fudge here in Annapolis but we loved everything else about Annapolis and Maryland. Great place to visit especially to see all the historical sites.

After Annapolis I perceived a twinkle of an inventor in Austin’s eyes. A baker inventor. He proclaimed that he would be our fudge baker. Did he have permission to use the kitchen and would I buy him the ingredients? To which I said, “Uh, yes and yes!” “Let’s proceed to the store right now.” “Maybe before bedtime if the fudge sets then we can devour a piece, I mean, eat a piece.”

Soon to be Current Dilemma

This has lead me to my  current dilemma that we will now be facing. Life without Austin’s preferred fudge ingredient. A better ingredient. A Naturally Nora Cheerful Chocolate Frosting Mix ingredient. An ingredient that has contained less additives which maintained itself as a healthier choice ingredient.

Austin has been  insistent on needing his ingredient of Cheery Chocolate Frosting Mix. I am too. No offense marshmallow creme but we have chosen the mix over you. You know… It’s just healthy for us and that’s what we desire. The simple things like less ingredients.  Then, we know what we are eating.

Naturally Nora Website

The Naturally Nora box has a website where I can go to comment about the product because they would love to hear from me. But, I can’t. I am just simply too busy. I have now become a stalker of all of my local grocery shelves. Since Kroger’s commented that they were indeed discontinuing the chocolate frosting mix, I had to buy all that was on the shelf. I think that was seven boxes at one location. We have a lot of Kroger’s in my area. I could be at it for a while.

Well, I will have needs for this product. I know it is just going to be August. But, then it’s September and we all know what September ushers in… Fall. For us, Fall is just the beginning of fudge baking season.

Time Still Left

Yes, I checked out the expiration date on the boxes. I’m good to go. At least for a little bit.. because the expiration date read February 2013. Hopefully, I can make it to more Kroger’s stores before their stock is out. If not, it could be a fudge-less Valentine’s Day. Unless there’s hope for the Naturally Nora brand to be carried at my local Target or Walmart’s then we’d be back in business again.

I just walked in the rain last night to burn off food calories. Little did I know that I would need to take another walk to burn off more calories.

What kind of calories, you say? Well, the absolutely deliciously chocolaty kind. The creamy chocolaty fudge kind.

Frosting Mix Not Marshmallow Creme

All of the family savored two pieces of homemade fudge last night. My son, Austin, found a recipe for fudge on Naturally Nora’s website. Apparently you can make chocolate fudge by using her “Cheerful Chocolate” Frosting Mix. When choosing to use Naturally Nora’s Frosting, you don’t need to use marshmallow creme that is a common ingredient used in many fudge recipes.

Take it Away

The Naturally Nora fudge became quickly devoured in our family. Well, at least as much of it as I would allow them to eat.
I wanted some fudge left for after today’s lunch. But now I say… Take it away. Or, I’m gonna have to take an extra long walk tonight even if it’s forecasted to rain. With my stomach full of fudge, I guess I better check the weather forecast for tonight… just in case.

Supremely Simple Chocolate Fudge

 

Author: Naturally Nora

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  40 mins

Print

Ingredients

• 1 box Naturally Nora Cheerful Chocolate Frosting Mix
• 6 TB, unsalted butter, plus additional to grease pan
• 4 TB Milk
• 2 cups (1 12oz. bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. BUTTER (lightly) an 8×8 inch baking pan.
2. MELT 6 TB butter until liquid.
3. MIX melted butter, milk, and frosting mix on high speed with an electric mixer, or stir by hand until fluffy in a large bowl.
4. MELT chocolate chips in microwave according to package instructions.
5. SCRAPE melted chocolate chips into bowl of frosting, stirring until combined.
6. SPREAD into 8×8 inch pan and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
7. CUT into squares and serve. Makes 3 dozen small squares.

2.2.8

For a brief moment I thought ahead of the summer season. I was thinking about the fall. Not because I’m ready for summer to be over….I just wanted to use my Nordic Ware Fall Wreath Pan early. You know… experiment a little with a cake pan again.

Summer Hibernation

I hadn’t used my wreath pan in quite some time. My other Nordic Ware Pans were bidding for their turns. In all honesty, my Ms. Wishful Wreath Pan was at a disadvantage due to her season. She was ready to come out of her summer hibernation because she wanted to feel the heat.

The Heat of the Bake

Yes, you heard me right. She has always loved to live in the heat. No, not the humid heat of summer, Ms. Wishful Wreath Pan desired a 350 degree heat of my oven. Her servant hood spirit craved the heat of the bake. Ms. Wishful Wreath Pan begged for a recipe batter that would allow her to be taken off her baker’s shelf and put to good use.

Awarded the Chance

Yesterday she was awarded the chance. I selected the Orange Creme Cake recipe to see how it would do in this festive pan. If all went well, then this cake would be a sweet success for Ms. Wishful Wreath Pan. She would claim some bragging rights over her other Nordic Ware family members.

But most of all, she wanted to be remembered as Ms. Wishful Wreath Pan.. a pan that has been used for more than just the fall season.

Here’s my adapted Orange Creme Cake recipe.

Orange Creme Cake

 

Author: Jenny W. Lynne

Recipe type: Dessert

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  55 mins

Print

Ingredients

• 1( 19.1 oz.) pkg Sunny Yellow Cake Mix
• (by Naturally Nora)
• ¾ cup of sour cream ( I like Daisy)
• 1 (1.3 oz.) pkg whipped topping mix
• 1 cup of orange juice ( I prefer Tropicana)
• 3 eggs ( organic eggs)
• 1Tbsp of grated orange peel

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degree F.
2. Grease and lightly flour pan.
3. In large bowl; combine cake mix, sour cream, whipped topping, orange juice and eggs.
4. Blend on low speed for a couple of minutes.
5. Scrape bowl several times then beat on medium for another three minutes.
6. Fold in orange peel.
7. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool in Nordic Ware Wreath Pan for 10 minutes.
10. Invert unto cooling rack (I love to place cake in my Nordic Ware Keeper) and cool.

2.2.8

I use my Nordic Ware pans weekly if not more on some weeks. During my baking crazes I may bake two or three days in a row. I believe in baking enough breakfast breads, coffee cakes, and muffins to stock my family up for a week’s time. My bulk baking is essential for my larger family. I need a good supply of wholesome breakfast foods to make it through the week.

Essential Tools Desired

Since I bake frequently, it is a necessity to have good quality tools to simplify my baking experience. I am always thinking about a better way for easy and quick clean up after my baking. No one wants to be on their feet for another hour or so in order to clean up a big kitchen mess….especially when you have already been standing during your baking time.

Nordic Ware Castle Pan

Nordic Ware Castle Pan

I was reluctant to purchase the Nordic Ware Castle Pan since it had nooks and cranies to clean. I knew it could make an awesome cake for theme parties but was it worth the clean up?  I wasn’t so sure. Then my mom saw a good deal on the Castle Pan. A bargain we couldn’t refuse.

The Castle Cake Pan in an Upside Position

The test market would be my family.  Since Nate’s birthday was coming up, he could decide if he wanted to be the first family member to test out the pan. His incentive? Nate and his siblings could decorate the cake personally with their picks of their favorite candies.

One Baking Tool

The Pam baking spray has been a great tool for my kitchen. It definitely has worked to keep my baking items from sticking to the pans. However, it doesn’t have a 100% track record. This led me on a search for a better way to efficiently clean my Nordic Ware Pans in a time saving manner.

I tried Q-tips to clean the hard to reach spots of the pan. Nary a way to effectively get the cleaning job done. As I continued to research better cleaning possibilities, my husband came to the rescue. How did the rescue take place? In an unexpected way!

Big Project

I had completed a big school project and needed a defragmentation of my brain’s hard drive. And quickly! What was the easiest activity to begin the defragmentation process? Well, after dinner at Smash Burgers, my brain’s system restore hadn’t finished its task quite yet. It craved more downtime.

What’s the best way to aid in this type of brain system restore? I know one way… shopping! Since T.J. Maxx was in the same complex, this seemed like a logical choice. I was also ready to see if they had any new Nordic Ware Pans.

Shelves Bare

Sigh… the shelves were bare of Nordic Ware products. That was a big bummer because I was ready to bake. Baking has also qualified as a great activity to support my brain’s system restore. A new pan would’ve been just the tool to promote great brain health.

I Must Admit

Bottle Cleaning Brush

I must admit for this shopping trip my husband, Will, found the essential tool that I needed for baking. A forgotten device that became a perfect solution for my cleaning needs of my Nordic Ware Pans. The providential chance founding of a three in one baby bottle cleaning brush.

Yes!

The providential founding was THE perfect match! I have added this baby bottle cleaning brush as a must have cleaning tool for my Nordic Ware Pans. It worked great to clean the nooks and cranies of the Castle Cake Pan and the Nordic Ware Wreath Pan. I bet it would help you too!

Extra extra read all about it!! Want to know how to create an easy frog habitat in your own yard. Here’s the information that you’ve been looking for. In this post I will explain in five easy steps how to create a frogs’ fiesta.

Science Project in Your Own Yard

It’s a quick easy way to provide a wildlife experience with your kids. A fun and live science project. Want to know the best part? You get to be part of a learning and teaching environment with your kids while providing an ecosystem for innumerable frog families. In my family’s case… tree frogs. Lots of cute ones. A frogs’ fiesta that could last the whole summer.

Here’s How It Happened

I’d like to say that we planned this whole ecosystem science project all by ourselves. But…that’s not how it happened so I won’t try to take credit for it. Our frog habitat was kind of like the movie called Field of Dreams. Most of us all know the famous line, “if you build it they will come.” Yes, it’s an oldie by today’s standards of movies. But, inspirational one none the less. And how it happened to us was similar to field of dreams. We built it and didn’t realize they were more than ready to come.

Rain Barrel

Here’s how our frog habitat presented itself to us. I had been eying rain barrels for years. I finally received one for my birthday two spring seasons ago. We had used it for several years in our backyard to water my plants. I absolutely love it. It has a faucet attached to it at the bottom where you can turn it on to fill up your sprinkling can, hose, or bucket to water your flowers. We attached it to our gutter so when it rained the rain barrel became loaded full with free water for us to use all summer.

Last Summer

During last year’s summer we were gone throughout these months with traveling opportunities. I knew I needed to seal the rain barrel with its lid to keep rain water clean but it just didn’t make my top ten list. Somehow after a great amount of rain, enough to fill it to the top, we still hadn’t placed the lid on the barrel. And we left for a couple of days on a trip.

Symphony of Tree Frogs

We ventured home after one of our travels to hear a symphony tree frogs right near our backyard garage door. There were two big ones on our gutter singing and one just hanging out right at the inside edge of the barrel near the water. But, we didn’t think much more about it.

Spectacular Discovery

The next morning the kids made the discovery. After the kids had been playing in the backyard for some time, they excitedly ran inside to report the surprise. There were hundreds upon hundreds of tadpoles in the rain barrel. I had forgotten to mention the algae-like conditions of the water. So naturally, it was a perfect ecosystem for frogs to begin a family.

We had the best summer with our frog fiesta. The kids were able to see the cycle of a frog’s life…egg, tadpole, metamorph, and frog. Our unexpected science project turned into a great family learning experience that we will always remember. My kids will be able to say that they contributed to helping our environment thrive.

Five Easy Steps For a Frog Fiesta

1. Buy a rain barrel that you like from a local garden store. I have a 55 gallon one that we purchase from Home Depot. This one was more expensive but it doesn’t have to be. We also bought a tin trash can with a lid to catch rain water off of our front porch. This one cost roughly $25 from Lowe’s but is half the size of the rain barrel. But, it works as well because we also had tree frogs mating in this tin can.
2. Place it in your yard during the spring time of frog mating season. Do not treat your lawn with pesticides. We placed ours near our backyard gutter. Most rain barrels have a connector piece to attach straight from your gutter into your rain barrel.
3. Fill the rain barrel with water or wait until you get a good rainfall. Once your barrel is filled full with water then leave your lid off.
4. Listen carefully for the tree frogs to sing. Take any free floating debris out of the rain water.
5. Once you see tree frogs hanging around, then start watching daily for signs of frog eggs. After you see the eggs, then continue to watch every couple of days for the eggs to turn into tadpoles. You can record your findings in a journal and keep track of the cycle of your frogs. Once they become frogs, they will begin trying to leave their water habitat. Take some picture for your photo book then and give them your best wishes.

Today was a packed Saturday filled with weekend errands. I had checked my flower garden on Thursday and gave them a light water. This past week of summer sun rays hadn’t been packed with blistering heat like our previous summer weeks. A reprieve! Yeah!

The forecast for rain sprinkled true today. As we were out and about the light drizzle of rain cooled off the July air a little more. With a consistent breeze the weather was great tonight to take a evening walk. By the time we were ready to walk with Shadow the rain had stopped.

Nighttime Critters

After all of our Saturday’s activities, it was late when we got home tonight. Shadow was with us today for all of our errand outings. As soon as we pulled into our darkened back yard, Shadow was ready to pounce. He sensed or heard the critters moving about in our wooded backyard and he wanted out of the car to investigate.

Before I was able to check on my garden of flowers, we all went over to our sycamore tree to figure out why Shadow was set to still. Still, he sat under the tree with a slight wag of his tail and an anticipation of some kind of varmint. The kids brought out from the house a blaring bright style of flashlight. That’s when we saw why Shadow was at a persistent and patient stance next to the tree.

What Kind of Varmint Would it Be?

It was a varmint… a rodent called a squirrel. I usually never have patience or kindness to our backyard squirrels because they are so greedy for all of our birds’ food from our bird feeders. But with this one, I did feel a pang of sympathy. He was cleverly hidden in the thick ivy that was growing up the sycamore tree and he was heavily panting. Frozen and panicky.

With no sudden moves from him, we could get a great look at him with our supersonic red flashlight. My husband, Will, had thought he had seen something scurry down our driveway as we pulled in. It must have been this furry rodent who had been the racer. From as close as we could inspect, because the squirrel was sprawled out on the tree still as a mannequin, he looked as thought he had teeth or claw marks on him. We couldn’t see his other side, but he had some red tinges of blood on him where the bite marks or claw mark were located. We do know that we have a family of barred owls in our back wooded area so one of the adults could’ve gotten a hold of him tonight.

The compassionate side of our kids wanted him rescued, inspected, and then cared for by a local animal humane center. Will and I explained that it was best to leave him alone because he could probably escape to our back wooded area once he caught his breath.

Back to my Garden of Flowers

After this squirrel diversion was concluded, I went back to focus on my garden of flowers. What would they look like today? Would they be taller? Would the droopy few be standing taller with their sibling flowers?

With no flower check on Friday, I curiously walked over to my raised flowerbed to inspect my garden of flowers.
I wondered how they would fair after the breeze of rain that they received this evening. In the darkness of nightfall I shone my iPhone light on them. Would it be time to record them on my growth chart?

Great Growth with No Scoliosis

Wow! In just two days with a little bit of light and rain, the sunflowers were doing great. I had staked the two consistently droopy ones and they were looking better as well. The sprinkling of rain that showered down from our Saturday evening sky was the perfect amount for my flower babies today. They were thriving today as well as my zinnias. Now, the cosmos… they weren’t fairing as well. It doesn’t look like many of them will be joining my garden of flowers this summer.

Squirrel Community

If the squirrel does make it, I hope he lets the rest of his squirrel community know about the owl family in the wooded area of our yard. Then maybe the other birds will be able to peacefully eat their bird seed in the privacy of their own feeder.

Procrastination!  Was it procrastination mixed with indecisiveness?  I did have so many delicious dessert options that I could make for a get together at our friends’ house. Would I use my Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie Pan? I was also undecided if I had  enough time to bake since I wanted to also have time to blog before I left for our family outing. I knew that if I didn’t get my words on paper then I would be having a conversation with myself at the party. My friends might not know it but I would be constructing sentences into paragraphs until I had formulated my story in my head. While nodding and appearing interested, I would also be visualizing what words that I wanted to type on paper. Words that were next in line to become a blog post…a story. The story that would’ve lost out to my baking. The story that I failed to get down on paper while the thoughts were fresh.

Compromise

Thanks to my oldest son, Austin, I reached a compromise with myself that would work with my need to write and my desire to have a dessert with healthy ingredients. Here’s my compromise. I would write until time to leave while my son made the brownies. Yea! My brain was no longer in turmoil over two desirable activities. Or two positive approaches as the term would be properly defined as by the Psychology 101 definition. He would use the Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie Pans. Two of them to be exact. I had bought a non cast iron aluminum Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie Pan when I eyed it at Target. It was not my first choice. I really wanted the cast aluminum version of the Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie Pan but I couldn’t find it at any of my local stores that I shop. I was looking for a T.J. Maxx bargain price but so far no luck.

Contest

Then I found the cast aluminum version this spring at a local HomeGoods store. So again, it just kind of fell into a Nordic Ware bake off between pans. Austin had enough batter from a cake mix to fill both pans. Twelve mini bundt brownies with the non aluminum pan and twelve mini bundt brownies with the cast aluminum pan. Would there be a difference between the two pans? Or would both styles of pan perform to an equal quality of baking?

Instead using the recipe that came with the pan, Austin used a chocolate cake mix made by Naturally Nora. So we really were creating two contests in one. First, the pan contest. Which bundt brownie pan would be the better baking tool? Second, would a cake mix make the cut? Since we were running short on time due to my indecisiveness, a cake mix would be just a little bit faster then a brownie mix from scratch.

Cake Mix

The cake mix worked great. There was a slight difference of taste than if we used a true brownie mix. But with icing, no one noticed the difference. The brownie cakes, as they should now be called, were gobbled up. As one can see from picture above, Austin melted Wilton’s orange chocolate to then create a melted colorful chocolate icing. He topped the orange icing with a coconut M&M. for one extra touch of chocolate.

The Bundt Brownie Pans resulted in a different outcome. Big enough for a preference and verdict to be declared. Here’s the preference and verdict. I will be looking for another good deal on a cast aluminum pan. I love it. My mom tried to give me the cons to the non cast aluminum bundt brownie pan. But, at the time, this pan was my only option.

Cast Aluminum Pan

The cast aluminum pan was a better product. The mini bundt brownies came out superbly with this pan. There were stuck pieces of the brownie left on the pan. Unfortunately, the non cast aluminum can’t list this attribute to his resume. Even with Baker’s Joy, the brownies in the pan were harder to get out without sticking to the pan.

Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie Pan

Needless to say, I have to have two of these pans.The cast aluminum version. I will keep the non aluminum Bundt Brownie Pan only until he can be replaced with a cast aluminum. I feel a road trip to Mall of America coming my way. I know there is two Nordic Ware outlet stores at this mall’s location. And if I don’t make it to Mall of America then there’s still T.J. Maxx. I just might have to wait a little bit longer.